Juliet Cook's Blog, page 150
April 23, 2012
“a distillation of voluntary mutilation”
Women don’t necessarily go around bragging about their brand new vaginas, but these moments of honesty are what make Cook’s concoction a voracious critique, sometimes cheering for and sometimes against “snazzy tassels atop her misshapen meat curtain.”
A quote from Dolly Lemke's new review of my poetry chapbook Thirteen Designer Vaginas.
Read the whole review at Arsenic Lobster, here: http://arseniclobster.magere.com/1review.html
And if you would like to purchase my Thirteen Designer Vaginas poetry chapbook from Hyacinth Girl Press, you may do so here - http://hyacinthgirlpress.com/purchase/
April 15, 2012
(small poetry chapbook review by Juliet Cook)
“riding the lace barometer” by j/j hastain, ISMs Press
(small review from Juliet Cook)
Since I read this poetry collection online in PDF format, I can’t offer specific comments about the visual appeal of the print chapbook, but I can speak about how the words affected me. I feel that some of how writer j/j hastain experiments with and uniquely organizes the poetic content and approach of words is visual in its own way; offers its own bodily-based, sexual, questionable, provocative, peculiar displays. Prepare for an in-deep partaking of strange yet powerful “folds as they enshrine a gorgeous hysteria”, because that is part of what hastain’s poetic encounters will be placing upon you.
Many of the folds are bodily based, but not traditionally positioned or traditionally gender based. There are turn ons; there are questionings; there are comfort zones and discomfort zones, causing uncertainty in the midst of intense arousal. Despite occasional discomfort and fear, the collection continues trying new and different and intense positions and unlikely positions and re-positioning and restructuring. “We are taking the musk and mush maps and shoveling them into each other’s open mouths.” We are frequently searching through a variety of fleshy fusions and new lubrications.
Overall, hastain’s subject matter and her approach offer s a wonderfully well written slew of unique words/visuals/thoughts/feelings/fusions. Indeed, the ability to uniquely fuse and affix visual and descriptive; lust and love; bodily based changing and interchanging with in-depth connections definitely strikes me as one of hastain’s powerful strengths as a poet.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the pages that consist of only one line, such as, “Those that are and are not my memory”, because what is so unique about one little line like that and why is it necessary enough to appear as its own entire page? But then I will read one line such as, “Oh so many secreting, unearthed drawers” and find that one to be interestingly unique enough to stand on its own plus evoke further thoughts/feelings/interests/other parameters.
I will admit there were times when the overall content of this collection struck me as a bit overly lengthy and repetitive (for a slow, intense reader, such as myself). Also (and again this is just coming from one individual reader), there are some parts of the content that sound good enough to elicit visual appeal, yet the imagery doesn’t quite make sense to me; I wouldn’t be able to easily explain what the content means. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I guess it depends upon what the writer is aiming for. Sometimes I might not understand how certain parts fit together, but sometimes we don’t quite understand exactly how or why relationships start, fit, last, or end.
“How to allow the dead ones and the living ones, a sense of ritual belonging? Are we dead or living or? Are we on the brink of belonging differently than we ever have before?”
***
If interested in purchasing a copy of this chapbook, you may contact ISMs Press editor Rachel Kendall at ismspress@gmail.com
April 7, 2012
CUT
I overreacted to a computer issue earlier this week; itturned out it was only my monitor that suddenly died, thank goodness – but Iwas worried that it might have been worse; that I might have lost years worthof words. For several days I was mentallyoverreacting and feeling overly worried and overly negative about myself in avariety of ways. Even though I had not done anything in particular wrong, I wasbrimming with oodles of dislikes about myself.
An ongoing issue with the way my mind works is thatsometimes if one unexpected, bad thing happens (even a smallish bad thing, suchas my computer issue the other day), then my mind is prone to soon startthinking about other bad things that have recently happened or MIGHT happen inthe future. From health issue to divorceto what if nobody will ever again be able to really love me and what is thereabout me to love (nothing of much significance; I seem to be a weak downhillbattleground).
Then I will start thinking/worrying too much about the man Iam currently involved with and feeling strongly about; I will feel uncertainabout how he feels about me. We have known each other for about a year now. I canhardly believe how fast a year races by - and a year sure doesn't seem verylong to me - I feel like we are still getting to know each other - but what ifhe's the type of person who starts to get tired of/bored with someone after ayear. What if he is already cravingsomeone more positive and more uplifting, instead of a little misshapen creepsuch as me?
That's the way my mind works/worries sometimes – questioningthings too much and feeling overly negatively. Other times I feel more happy, delighted and positive plus creative andproductive. Other times I'm back tothinking too much re: 'What is the point?' and/or feeling overly worried thatI'm sure to lose everyone/everything.
Even though I sometimes feel unworthy (even though I trulydesire to be worthy of something powerful and positive), I also feel tired oflosing lots of things that I had thought were real and strong andsignificant. Was/is my mind WRONG aboutwhat is/is not significant? Is nothingreally significant for an extended time period? Can anyone help me/convince me of my/their long significant powers? Mywriting can sometimes convince me and help me feel powerful and connected – andmy writing has existed for MANY MANY MANY years. Thus, losing my writingwould have felt like a last straw and it would have been hard not to chop someof my fingers off.
April 3, 2012
NEW REVIEW of Letters From Room 27
"a curiosity cabinet full of insects, skeletons, stuffed animals, summer fruit… madness, ghosts, metamorphoses, bondage"
from ISMs Press/Rachel Kendall's new review of Margaret Bashaar's Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook, Letters From Room 27 of the Grand Midway Hotel
Read the whole review by clicking the link below.
http://ismspress.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/review-of-letters-from-room-27-of-the-grand-midway-hotel-by-margaret-bashaar/
Partake of/purchase yourself a copy of this chapbook from the Blood Pudding Press etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/80739335/letters-from-room-27-of-the-grand-midway
March 27, 2012
Small infiltration/installation of oddities - NEW Thirteen Myna Birds
A new Thirteen Myna Birds brimming with poetic strangeness and frisson, including new offerings by Jill Khoury, Alex S. Johnson, & Paul Hostovsky is now live.Partake of itty bitty snippets from each of their poems below and then check out the whole thing via the link below that.
"an electronic eye, a magic button, tubes worm in, your obscene habit/the dork hat, nicked by the shadow, seeping from the waist down/little parachutes, catering to creative fuck-ups "
http://13myna.blogspot.com
March 7, 2012
NEW Poetry Interview of me at Little Myths!
In addition to the two new wonderful poetry chapbook reviews (see the post below this one), a recent Poetry Interview with me is now live on Little Myths; yay!
This is the first interview conducted by me and the Interviewer (Daniel M. Shapiro) by IMing with each other.
I love who Shapiro added actual links to all the poetry oriented pieces of my bio above the Interview, so click on some of those links to read some of my poetry and find out more.
Then find out what blurted out of me via texting style Interview format here:
http://littlemyths-dms.blogspot.com/2012/03/interview-with-juliet-cook.html?spref=fb
This is the first interview conducted by me and the Interviewer (Daniel M. Shapiro) by IMing with each other.
I love who Shapiro added actual links to all the poetry oriented pieces of my bio above the Interview, so click on some of those links to read some of my poetry and find out more.
Then find out what blurted out of me via texting style Interview format here:
http://littlemyths-dms.blogspot.com/2012/03/interview-with-juliet-cook.html?spref=fb
"Devouring Delicious, Savory Treats" = Two New Reviews of my poetry chaps!
"Devouring Delicious, Savory Treats: Lisa M. Cole on Juliet Cook's poetry chapbooks Thirteen Designer Vaginas and Post-Stroke" appears within the latest offering of Gently Read Literature, here - http://issuu.com/gently_read_literature/docs/grl_mar
Below is a snippet from one of those reviews; you may read them both in their entirety by clicking the link above.
"In both collections, there is a feeling present of losing a certain amount of control, of questioning the state of things, but to write the experience down, to make art out of it, is to regain control. The vagina, the woman's body, and the woman herself are transformed from a punch line into a poem after all."
***
You may purchase your very own copy of 'Thirteen Designer Vaginas' from Hyacinth Girl Press here - http://hyacinthgirlpress.com/purchase/
You may purchase your very own copy of 'POST-STROKE' from the Blood Pudding Press etsy shop here - http://www.etsy.com/listing/69547229/post-stroke-by-juliet-cook
Below is a snippet from one of those reviews; you may read them both in their entirety by clicking the link above.
"In both collections, there is a feeling present of losing a certain amount of control, of questioning the state of things, but to write the experience down, to make art out of it, is to regain control. The vagina, the woman's body, and the woman herself are transformed from a punch line into a poem after all."
***
You may purchase your very own copy of 'Thirteen Designer Vaginas' from Hyacinth Girl Press here - http://hyacinthgirlpress.com/purchase/
You may purchase your very own copy of 'POST-STROKE' from the Blood Pudding Press etsy shop here - http://www.etsy.com/listing/69547229/post-stroke-by-juliet-cook
February 24, 2012
My first scary aura
Some people might perceive an aura as being a potentially exhilarating experience; perhaps even spiritual in some sort of way - but imagine how non-fun and un-exhilarating it might be when you unexpectedly experience it for the first time as the early warning symptoms of a temporal lobe seizure. That happened to me last night and what a scary spell.
I was watching TV and suddenly red & green lights appeared to be spewing out of the TV screen - then spewing from my back door – then red & green lights everywhere I looked no matter where I turned my head. They were bright and strange and unsettling and I started to feel faint and afraid, so I crawled towards my bed, just in case I was going to pass out. Since I didn't know what was happening and thought I might be on the brink of dyeing, I decided to call my parents right away, but that's when the situation became even scarier. I could not see the letters or numbers on my cell phone and could not understand its shape or how it worked.
My right arm was starting to tingle and feel a bit limp; causing me to worry it might be on the brink of paralysis, which it was after I suffered from an unexpected stroke a few years ago. My right eye was not seeing properly or clearly and I was trying to hold my phone up close to my left eye and somehow figure out how to press a name that already had its number plugged in. It took way too long, but I finally somehow managed to call my sister who lives near me. At that point, I was having trouble speaking and could not explain the situation in any details, but could only say that something was wrong with me.
My parents soon made it to my house; while waiting I don't remember exactly what happened; but it involved weird sounds randomly zooming around the air. Once my parents arrived, I had significant trouble speaking/explaining/saying the right words. We thought about going to the Emergency Room, but I REALLY did not want to, because last time I did that, I was there for several un-appealing days, receiving all sorts of tests to see if I'd had a seizure – and even though the testing did not clearly indicate that I'd had a seizure, they prescribed me with a seizure pill anyway.
Guess what we think caused last night's incident? I have been taking my seizure pill for quite a few months now, due to MAYBE having had a seizure this past August. Apparently sometimes people who have suffered from strokes are more prone to seizures after that, which is the main reason I was prescribed this pill even though the hospital testing did not prove I'd had a seizure. I had very recently gone to pick up my new generic batch of the pill I've been taking and they had switched it to a different generic batch pill with different side ingredients. My mom and I both questioned that, but the pharmacy people acted like that was nothing major or unusual and was just the way it was. Well, I took my very first dose of that new version of my pill yesterday - and yesterday evening was the only time I've ever experienced an aura in my entire life.
This is one reason why I dislike most doctors, pharmacists, and especially the pharmaceutical industry and how they handle pills (to make money). Do they really think it's no big deal to suddenly just switch someone's pill to a different generic version with different ingredients? The fact of the matter is they probably just don't care. What do they care about one individual who for about a month after starting her first pill had serious sleep issues and less passion and less inspiration and felt far more like, 'oh whatever' about a lot of things then she had ever felt before in her life. I spent significant time napping and not caring as much as usual about most things. Then my body finally acclimates itself to that pill; I'm finally getting back to feeling passionate, artistic, energetic, productive and active again. THEN they randomly switch my pill to a new pill.
Fortunately, on the definite plus side, my mom did some research for me last night/this morning (I can't research pills too much myself or I would probably freak out while reading about all their potential side effects and just stop taking them), found out I'd had an aura due to my sudden pill switch, and called a different pharmacy who seemed surprised that the other one had randomly switched my pill - and they agreed to give me the old version of my pill today - so I got it, took it, and feel fine now, albeit a little overly tired and achy.
It was sure a scary little unexpected episode last night though - especially when I couldn't see the numbers or letters or shape of my phone for an extended time period and thought I might be suddenly losing my eye site...then more of my brain...and then my life, unable to even make contact with anyone to try to help me. Hopefully something like that will never happen again, although if it does, at least next time, I will have an idea what is happening to a certain extent; thus even though it would still be very uncomfortable, unlikable and somewhat scary, I think I would be able to convince myself I wasn't dying.
In any case, it sure felt like an oddly extreme, uncomfortable brain related mess last night, especially considering I had only taken half a dose of the new version of my pill thus far. It really makes me feel sorry for people who have to take higher dosage versions of that pill and/or a multitude of different pills and then experience a negative side effect and not even know which pill it's coming from.
I was watching TV and suddenly red & green lights appeared to be spewing out of the TV screen - then spewing from my back door – then red & green lights everywhere I looked no matter where I turned my head. They were bright and strange and unsettling and I started to feel faint and afraid, so I crawled towards my bed, just in case I was going to pass out. Since I didn't know what was happening and thought I might be on the brink of dyeing, I decided to call my parents right away, but that's when the situation became even scarier. I could not see the letters or numbers on my cell phone and could not understand its shape or how it worked.
My right arm was starting to tingle and feel a bit limp; causing me to worry it might be on the brink of paralysis, which it was after I suffered from an unexpected stroke a few years ago. My right eye was not seeing properly or clearly and I was trying to hold my phone up close to my left eye and somehow figure out how to press a name that already had its number plugged in. It took way too long, but I finally somehow managed to call my sister who lives near me. At that point, I was having trouble speaking and could not explain the situation in any details, but could only say that something was wrong with me.
My parents soon made it to my house; while waiting I don't remember exactly what happened; but it involved weird sounds randomly zooming around the air. Once my parents arrived, I had significant trouble speaking/explaining/saying the right words. We thought about going to the Emergency Room, but I REALLY did not want to, because last time I did that, I was there for several un-appealing days, receiving all sorts of tests to see if I'd had a seizure – and even though the testing did not clearly indicate that I'd had a seizure, they prescribed me with a seizure pill anyway.
Guess what we think caused last night's incident? I have been taking my seizure pill for quite a few months now, due to MAYBE having had a seizure this past August. Apparently sometimes people who have suffered from strokes are more prone to seizures after that, which is the main reason I was prescribed this pill even though the hospital testing did not prove I'd had a seizure. I had very recently gone to pick up my new generic batch of the pill I've been taking and they had switched it to a different generic batch pill with different side ingredients. My mom and I both questioned that, but the pharmacy people acted like that was nothing major or unusual and was just the way it was. Well, I took my very first dose of that new version of my pill yesterday - and yesterday evening was the only time I've ever experienced an aura in my entire life.
This is one reason why I dislike most doctors, pharmacists, and especially the pharmaceutical industry and how they handle pills (to make money). Do they really think it's no big deal to suddenly just switch someone's pill to a different generic version with different ingredients? The fact of the matter is they probably just don't care. What do they care about one individual who for about a month after starting her first pill had serious sleep issues and less passion and less inspiration and felt far more like, 'oh whatever' about a lot of things then she had ever felt before in her life. I spent significant time napping and not caring as much as usual about most things. Then my body finally acclimates itself to that pill; I'm finally getting back to feeling passionate, artistic, energetic, productive and active again. THEN they randomly switch my pill to a new pill.
Fortunately, on the definite plus side, my mom did some research for me last night/this morning (I can't research pills too much myself or I would probably freak out while reading about all their potential side effects and just stop taking them), found out I'd had an aura due to my sudden pill switch, and called a different pharmacy who seemed surprised that the other one had randomly switched my pill - and they agreed to give me the old version of my pill today - so I got it, took it, and feel fine now, albeit a little overly tired and achy.
It was sure a scary little unexpected episode last night though - especially when I couldn't see the numbers or letters or shape of my phone for an extended time period and thought I might be suddenly losing my eye site...then more of my brain...and then my life, unable to even make contact with anyone to try to help me. Hopefully something like that will never happen again, although if it does, at least next time, I will have an idea what is happening to a certain extent; thus even though it would still be very uncomfortable, unlikable and somewhat scary, I think I would be able to convince myself I wasn't dying.
In any case, it sure felt like an oddly extreme, uncomfortable brain related mess last night, especially considering I had only taken half a dose of the new version of my pill thus far. It really makes me feel sorry for people who have to take higher dosage versions of that pill and/or a multitude of different pills and then experience a negative side effect and not even know which pill it's coming from.
February 14, 2012
Happy Poetry Love!
In case you missed it a couple days ago, Happy Peculiar Valentine's Day/Anti-Valentine's Day from Thirteen Myna Birds! A darkly delicious new update is ready for you to lick up, with new offerings by Lauren Eggert-Crowe, Ken Poyner, Valerie Loveland, Joseph Goosey, & John Grey.
http://13myna.blogspot.com/
In case you missed it earlier this month, Valentine's Day/Anti-Valentine's Day might be a wonderful time to read some Poetry Crush: Valentine Poems (favorite erotic poems chosen by other poets)!
http://poetrycrush.com/2012/02/05/poetry-crush-valentine-issue/
http://13myna.blogspot.com/
In case you missed it earlier this month, Valentine's Day/Anti-Valentine's Day might be a wonderful time to read some Poetry Crush: Valentine Poems (favorite erotic poems chosen by other poets)!
http://poetrycrush.com/2012/02/05/poetry-crush-valentine-issue/
February 13, 2012
Little Love Words Question
What do you call your favorite man or woman & why?
http://voices.yahoo.com/little-love-words-question-10955552.html?cat=9
http://voices.yahoo.com/little-love-words-question-10955552.html?cat=9
